Bardhaman Cinema owner Madhusudan Das is re-opening with 2010 Dev-Sarbanti-starrer ‘Shedin Dekha Hoychilo’ on Saturday. “That movie is already loaded on Cube Cinemas. So, I can play it,” Das said. Cube operations manager Arunav Das said that from Sunday around 10 cinema halls in the district will start operating old films. Roopkatha (Habra) will feature ‘Tangra Blues’ (2021) and ‘Paran Jai Jaliya Re’ (2009). Purbasha (Masalandapur) will release ‘Shesh Theke Shooru’ (2019) and Surendra (Ranaghat) in ‘Ae Ami Renu’ (2021) Sarma (Barasat) wants ‘Mon Mane Na’ (2008) while Prantik (Tehatta) wants to show ‘Romeo’ (2011).
Rajkamal Chaurasia, Manager, Aarti Cinema Pvt Ltd, Regional Dealer, UFO Cine Network Mumbai, said, “Bhavani (Cooch Behar) will be screening ‘Mayurakshi’ (2017) and ‘Bindaas’ (2014) on Saturday. In New Cinema (Siliguri)”. Awara’ (2012) and a Hindi dubbed film ‘Vinash Kaal’ (2020) will be screened.However, single screen owners in Kolkata have not made such a request.
There may not be too much new material to see all movie halls reopen. But, even if some do reopen, due attention should be given to following all the COVID norms. Screen reopening is a good move for the industry but we need to be responsible and careful; Any uptick in matters will take us back to square one.
Meanwhile, director Raj Chakraborty is wondering if there could be some “political agenda” behind the drop in momentum of some of the city’s exhibitors, who campaigned for the reopening. “He had also told how the Uttar Pradesh government had allowed the reopening of cinemas, while Bengal was taking time. our government supports Tollywood And I wonder why UP was referenced. It will be harmful to Tollywood if some try to use the issue for political gains,” he said.
Chakraborty pointed to the spread of messages that MPs and MLAs have on members of Tollywood for not advocating for the cause of reopening cinemas in Bengal. “We don’t take these calls. There is a terrible pandemic and only experts can decide. Still, I’ve always sent these requests to us.” From. m. Didi wanted us to be patient as health issues have been a matter of concern. Now that the order is over, the makers should be allowed to decide when to release their content,” he said.
Soon after the notification on Thursday, a producer called a reputed director to discuss his contract which stipulated the mandatory theatrical release of his new Bengali film which had already been sold to a TV channel. But, the director did not insist on theatrical release. He didn’t want to burden the producer with the cost of a print, promotional and theatrical release, which would run into Rs 20 lakh if there was a slim chance of recovering the investment.
“My theater is in working condition and I am ready to open it provided we get suitable programs to play. But I cannot stress enough when a producer will release their film,” said Naveen Chaukhani, owner of Naveen.
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